Christmas time is a feast where the most delectable dishes are served. From snacks to pre-starters, starters, main courses, inbetweener dishes, punch and desserts. It’s a lovely time of year. Everybody is happy and smiling, some people drink too much punch and fall in the fish pond, or fall asleep before dinner has even started, but that’s okay because it’s Christmas time. The time of year you get to see family and friends you don’t see very often, some you don’t want to see that often but it’s still a lovely get together.
Every Christmas party needs to be accompanied by something to drink and in this case it’s punch. I have a fantastic and oh so bubbly punch recipe I received from a very dear friend, Pikkie.
Punch is typically served at parties in wide bowls. The origin of the word is from the Hindi, panch meaning 5. Originally it was made from 5 ingredients; alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices. The original drink was named paantsch.
Pikkies Punch :
- 1lt of Oros (Orange squash)
- 1lt of soda water
- 1lt of Sprite
- 1 can of Granadilla mouse
- Vodka
This is a winner recipe and to make it look interesting you can add some cherries and other fruit for a special touch of vibrant color. For other ideas on what to drink, click here.
Crunchy summer salad recipe
Ingredients:
- 200g finely sliced button mushrooms
- 200g trimmed green beans
- The juice of 1 lemon
- Soft green herbs of your choice like parsley, basil, rosemary, dill.
- 75g parmesan shaved into large curls
- 100g peppadews
- Handful of blueberries
- 100g cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Toss the mushrooms with half of the lemon juice and set aside – the juice will soften the mushrooms. Blanch the beans in boiling salted water for 5-6 mins until they still have a crunch, then drain and cool in iced water. Toss the herbs, blueberries and tomatoes together and season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms, peppadews, beans and sprinkle with the remaining olive oil. Add the parmesan shavings just before serving.
What is a Christmas party without Christmas cake? It’s like a Mustang without GT stripes. I mean the car off course, not the horse. Who would want to do such an insane thing as putting stripes on a horse? Oh wait, I forgot, that’s called a zebra. Back to the cake.
Fruit Cake recipe
Ingredients :
- 1 Cup of Water
- 1 Cup of Sugar
- 4 Large Eggs
- 2 Cups of Dried Fruit
- 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon of Salt
- 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Nuts
- 2 Bottles of rum
Sample the rum to check the quality. You don’t want to put old rum in such a special cake mix. To be sure it is of the highest quality; pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer.
Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again. Make sure the rum is still okay. Turn off the mixer. Break two legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the batter, pry it loose with a drewscriver. Meanwhile, it’s important to make sure the rum is of the finest quality—try another cup. Open the second bottle of rum to give it time to breathe.
Next, take a sniff of the baking soda and throw the salt over your shoulder. Take a big sip of the rum again. Now sift the lemon juice and strain nuts. Add one table spoon of sugar or salt or something. I am sure whatever you can find in the kitchen is okay. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window. Check the rum again. Now you are a fruit cake and you should go to bed. Remember to apologize to your neighbor the next morning for throwing bowls in his backyard.
This recipe will not give you something to eat for Christmas but will surely give a something to laugh about. (Don’t try this at home, it’s just a joke).
Slice of fruit cake
Enjoy your Christmas cooking.
Do you have any special Christmas recipe? I would love to try out your ideas. Comment below with your ideas.
Jessica Thomas is a local freelance writer. She is an eccentric young lady who has a love affair with writing. Get on board her journey of discovery.
SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT